Not Applicable
Not Applicable
All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and of other countries. The owner of the copyright rights has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The following publications, which are referred to herein by reference numbers placed inside square brackets (e.g. [1]) are incorporated herein by reference:
[1] Takeda, M., H. Ina, and S. Kobayashi xe2x80x9cFourier-transform method of fringe pattern analysis for computer-based topography and interferometry,xe2x80x9d J. Opt. Soc. Am., 72 (1), 156-60 (1981).
[2] Kreis, T. M., xe2x80x9cDigital holographic interference-phase measurement using the Fourier-transform method,xe2x80x9d J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, 3 (6), 847-55 (1986).
[3] Wang, J. Y. and D. E. Silva, xe2x80x9cWave-front interpretation with Zernike polynomials,xe2x80x9d Applied Optics, 19 (9), 1510-18 (1980).
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to computer systems, and more particularly to a graphical user interface for CCD camera control, and image acquisition, processing and analysis.
2. Description of the Background Art
A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is a convenient mechanism for a user to interface with a computer. A GUI displays various graphical objects on a screen which can be selected with a pointing device such as a mouse. The user need only move the pointing device to position a cursor over an object to be selected, and click a mouse button to select the object. In response, an application program or procedure is executed. The operating system in most modern computer systems provides a GUI for the user to run application programs, manipulate files and perform other operation functions. Application programs also often provide a GUI for assisting the user with operation of the application program.
However, no application program exists that is capable of providing a GUI for the fully customizable image processing tools provided by the interactive data language (IDL) programming environment developed by Research Systems, Inc. Nor is there any existing software application or analysis toolbox for the IDL environment. Prior to the present invention, in order to process image data using IDL, it was necessary to record data with one program and then transfer the data to IDL for subsequent processing. Additionally, prior to the present invention, analysis of the image data could only be performed after the image data was acquired, saved and reloaded by an analysis program. Thus, multiple programs were required, as well as external handling of data between the programs. Therefore, a need exists for a GUI which integrates these functions. The present invention satisfies that need, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies in previously developed systems for camera control and image acquisition, processing and analysis.
The present invention generally comprises an event-driven graphical user interface (GUI)-based image acquisition interface for the interactive data language (IDL) programming environment developed by Research Systems, Inc. The program is designed for charge coupled device (CCD) camera control and image acquisition directly into the IDL environment where image manipulation and data analysis can be performed. Running the image acquisition hardware directly from IDL removes the necessity of first saving images in one program and then importing the data into IDL for analysis in a second step. Real-time analysis is essential in many experimental circumstances where a CCD detector is used in the data acquisition. Bringing the data directly into IDL creates an opportunity, previously unavailable, for the implementation of IDL image processing and display functions in real-time. An additional feature polls the present state of experimental systems and records a number of parameters with the image data.
The top-level program allows control over the available charge coupled device (CCD) detector parameters, data acquisition, file saving and loading, and image manipulation and processing, all from within IDL. The program is built using IDL""s widget libraries to control the on-screen display and user interface. A library of low-level driver C-code programs developed by Photometrics is called from IDL to execute the camera controls.
The program is designed for rapid and convenient control of the available parameters, in an interface designed to simplify data acquisition and manipulation for the user. Since it is an event-driven program, at any time the user is free to choose the next action from all of the available features of the program.
Additionally, the present invention provides a toolbox of real-time analysis applications for use in connection with an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) phase-shifting point-diffraction interferometer (PS/PDI). The EUV PS/PDI has been implemented to perform at-wavelength interferometric testing of lithographic optical systems operating at 13-nm wavelength. Alignment of the interferometer is a highly demanding process requiring micron-scale coarse adjustments, and fine adjustments on the scale of tens of nanometers. Accordingly, several alignment procedures that involve image-processing and analysis of the images recorded during alignment have been developed as an aspect of the present invention. These procedures all benefit from rapid processing and feedback directly within the image-acquisition program. The alignment and analysis toolbox described here provides these new tools in the manner described below. Such tools are unavailable in any current software application known to the inventor.
Furthermore, the integration of high-level image-processing procedures designed specifically for the PS/PDI, but not limited to this application alone, make this analysis toolbox a unique and powerful addition to image acquisition software. Nearly any kind of image processing tool can be added to the toolbox. For example, not only are CCD cameras used in interferometry, but in microscopy, astronomy and geology. The present invention can fill nearly any electronic imaging and processing requirement.
An object of the invention is to provide complete control of a CCD detector and processing of acquired image data from within a single GUI computer program.
Another object of the invention is to provide a GUI interface for electronic imaging and processing software.
Another object of the invention is to integrate real-time image processing and data analysis functions with image acquisition software.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without placing limitations thereon.